Contents

Development

Lauren Faust was inspired to create Pinkie Pie by her childhood toy G1 Pegasus pony, Surprise.[2] The previous Pinkie Pie is a G3 pony whose coat is pink, with a lighter shade of pink for her mane and tail, and her cutie mark is three balloons with curved strings. Faust had published concept art of the G1 pony Surprise which was developed into the current Pinkie Pie. Hasbro published a recolor of the image in their "Style Guide for Pinkie Pie", complete with Pegasus wings. Pinkie Pie ultimately remained wingless, with an exception in The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2, and her wings were given to Fluttershy,[3][4] who was back then an Earth pony called Posey, and merchandise eventually gave the name Surprise to a member of the Wonderbolts. She shares some personality traits with the G1 pony named Clover.

According to Lauren Faust, she "used to have a 'power' of sorts when she ate too much candy", which she called a "Sugar Rush".[5] She'd plow through doors in a fit of speed, which would cause the Cakes to have to replace their front door on a weekly basis.[6]

Pinkie's mane and tail "poofing up" when she's happy and going flat when she's sad was conceived by Jim Miller for The Cutie Mark Chronicles and repeated in future episodes by James Wootton.[7]

Faust said that when the show was being developed, she encouraged the crew to keep the "wacky gags" exclusive to Pinkie.[8] The Season 1 DVD commentary for Winter Wrap Up says that Faust had dictated that "only Pinkie Pie could do certain crazy gags and other characters wouldn't do it."

According to Discovery Family (previously the Hub Network)'s Twitter account and Facebook page, Pinkie Pie's birthday is May 3.[9][10] In the year 2012, this day was seventy-five days after February 18, the premiere date of A Friend in Deed, an episode in which Pinkie says that her birthday is not for another seventy-five days.

Pinkie is hyperactive, excitable, quirky, and outgoing, often speaking and acting in non sequiturs. She warmly welcomes new faces such as Twilight Sparkle and Cranky Doodle Donkey. True to the element of laughter she represents, she loves to make ponies smile and laugh.

Pinkie tends to have a lighthearted manner in serious situations, such as stopping to drink chocolate milk raining from a cotton candy cloud when the main characters confront Discord in The Return of Harmony Part 2. As a result, she is often not taken seriously even by her closest friends, who occasionally call her out on her seemingly illogical behavior.

In The Return of Harmony Part 1, Discord hypnotizes Pinkie with his chaotic magic. In this state, Pinkie is an irritable grump who hates laughter and happiness and has a general dislike of many things. When she's returned to normal in the following episode, she laughs and says, "I-I turned gray! Can you believe it?!"

Cartoonish behavior

Pinkie frequently performs cartoonish feats, such as eye-bulging, wild takes, and unusually angled cuts into the frame. Her merry skips resemble Pepé Le Pew's, particularly in Griffon the Brush Off. Her costume and waddle in Dragonshy are reminiscent of Daffy Duck's four-legged body in Duck Amuck.

On several occasions, Pinkie breaks the fourth wall and shows awareness of cinematic elements. For example, at the end of Over a Barrel, she pokes her head through the iris wipe to grumble about Twilight's friendship lesson, and in Magic Duel, she stretches the iris wipe wide open and climbs into the black screen to protest about her vanished mouth, and in Make New Friends but Keep Discord, she gets so excited about Discord buying all the cakes in the bakery, she shakes the camera. In The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, after Pinkie claims that keeping Cadance and Shining Armor's secret was a "piece of cake", when the screen irises in on her, she shakes her head at the viewers, indicating the contrary.

Party cannon

In Sweet and Elite, Pinkie organizes a birthday party for Twilight on very short notice, putting up decorations in very little time with her "party cannon." The cannon would become a running gag throughout the show, up to the point where Pinkie even uses it to fight off the changelings in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2. The cannon is used again and alluded to in multiple episodes and other media, and a giant cannon appears in My Little Pony The Movie.

Insecurity

Pinkie Pie not quite feeling like herself.

On occasion, Pinkie Pie shows an insecure side of her personality, doubting her friends or herself. In Party of One, she believes her friends to be unfaithful, causing her hair to "deflate" and her coat color to fade to a grayish pink. She adopts several inanimate objects as new friends, pretending that they are real.

Pinkie Pie tries to prove that she is responsible in Baby Cakes by begging Mr. and Mrs. Cake to let her babysit Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. When the Cakes eventually agree, Pinkie Pie quickly becomes overwhelmed by the task and shows doubt in her ability to handle the responsibility.

In A Friend in Deed, Pinkie Pie tries to befriend Cranky Doodle Donkey, despite his many rejections. She only succeeds in making a friend out of him by reuniting him with Matilda.

In Too Many Pinkie Pies, Pinkie Pie creates duplicates of herself in order to make time for her friends. However, when Ponyville becomes overrun by dozens of Pinkie Pies, Pinkie Pie soon wonders if she's even the real Pinkie Pie.

In Pinkie Pride, Pinkie Pie feels outdone and replaced by Cheese Sandwich and doubts in her own partying abilities. She gives up party planning and tries other tasks but fails at them. Her faith in herself is only renewed when she looks back on parties she had thrown for her friends, including Twilight's welcome party and the wedding reception for Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

Cooking

Pinkie works at Sugarcube Corner, a confectionery run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She teaches Apple Bloom how to make cupcakes in Call of the Cutie and sometimes comes up with her own outlandish recipes, such as cupcakes topped with hot sauce in Friendship is Magic, part 1 and a "chimicherrychanga" in The Last Roundup.

Pinkie Sense

In Feeling Pinkie Keen, Pinkie reveals her ability to predict events in the near future by interpreting various twitches and involuntary motions, which she calls her "Pinkie Sense." The citizens of Ponyville pay heed to Pinkie's predictions, according to Applejack. Twilight is skeptical of the Pinkie Sense at first, since she fails to find a scientific explanation for it, but she eventually accepts it.

In The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Pinkie saves a team of construction workers from a collapsing building as part of the "Mare Do Well" plan. After Pinkie mentions her Pinkie Sense, her tail twitches, and she pushes Rainbow Dash out of the way of a falling pot. In It's About Time, Pinkie says she can only predict immediate events and not the actual future. Her tail twitches and a flowerpot falls on Twilight's head. In Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1, her tail twitches before a plunderseed vine knocks into Rarity.

"My shoulder's achy. That means there's an alligator in the tub." She pulls Gummy out of Twilight's bathtub.

"Ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. That means the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow!"

"Ear flop, then eye flutter, then knee twitch. That usually means 'look out for opening doors'."

Twilight observes, "She's hiding like something's about to fall out of the sky, but a twitchy tail means that something's about to fall from the sky, not an itchy nose." A swarm of bees then appears and attacks Twilight.

"Whatever that shudder's about, it's a doozy. Something you never expect to happen is gonna happen!" After the hydra attack, Pinkie says the attack wasn't the doozy. After Twilight decides to believe in the Pinkie Sense, Pinkie tells her "You believing. I never expected that to happen.”

Skating

Twilight admires Pinkie's ice-skating skills in Winter Wrap Up. Pinkie states she's been skating since she "was an itty-bitty little-wittle Twinkie-Pinkie." Later, in Power Ponies, she skates around on scrubbing brushes. Later still, in The Gift of the Maud Pie, she ice-skates again.

Memory

In various episodes, Pinkie Pie has an exceptional memory. In Friendship is Magic, part 1, Pinkie says she knows "everypony in Ponyville." In A Friend in Deed, she wishes Cheerilee a happy birthday, Zecora a happy day-after-her-birthday, and Matilda a happy-birthday-in-one-hundred-and-thirty-two-days.

When Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom clears the clouds and paints a rainbow across the sky, the shock wave frizzles Pinkie Pie's hair and gives it its distinctive curl. The sonic rainboom that she witnesses makes her smile, and she then decides to dedicate her life to spreading joy to other ponies. She invites her family to their first party ever, and they all shakily develop smiles, eventually merrily participating in Pinkie's party. Pinkie then earns her cutie mark.

The plot of Pinkie Apple Pie involves Pinkie investigating the possibility that she may be related to the Apple family, although in the end the truth is left ambiguous.

Pinkie Promise

Pinkie Pie demonstrating the Pinkie Promise.

Pinkie Pie has her own kind of promise, a variation of "cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Her version is "cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Twilight recites this promise in Green Isn't Your Color, Applejack in The Last Roundup, and the whole main cast (except Twilight) in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1. Pinkie makes a Pinkie Party Promise to Rainbow Dash by literally sticking a cupcake in her eye in Pinkie Pride. Pinkie takes these promises very seriously, stalking Twilight throughout Green Isn't Your Color to make sure she doesn't break one and angrily pursuing Applejack in The Last Roundup when she believes she has broken one. Also in The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, Pinkie Pie gets liberal with her own Pinkie Promises.

Depiction in Equestria Girls

In My Little Pony Equestria Girls, Pinkie Pie accompanies Twilight to her first princess summit in the Crystal Empire, and she witnesses Sunset Shimmer steal Twilight's crown. In an alternate world, Pinkie's human counterpart appears as a high school student. At the end of the film, she accurately guesses the details of Twilight's relationship with Flash Sentry on "a hunch."

Pinkie briefly appears in the sequel My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks at Twilight's castle, where she hears the legend of the sirens. Through Pinkie's musings, Twilight gets the idea to transfer the magic of Princess Celestia's book into the Crystal Mirror.

Other depictions

Hasbro.com description

To say that Pinkie Pie marches to the beat of her own drum is certainly an understatement! Giggly, playful and brimming over with energy, it's not unusual to find this pink pony prancing and skipping joyfully through the streets looking for fun, doing cartwheels, singing a song in a silly voice and making up her own ridiculous lyrics. By far the silliest pony around, nothing makes her happier than evoking a giggle and a smile from her friends. She is the freest of free spirits, always acting on her whims, following her heart, talking your ear off and getting a laugh or two along the way.[14]

Hasbro.com "Meet Pinkie Pie" clip

Pinkie Pie keeps her pony friends laughing and smiling all day! Eager to amuse her friends and make everyone happy, Pinkie Pie will find any excuse to throw a party! More than one pony in Ponyville has been the unsuspecting victim of a sneak-attack surprise party! To Pinkie Pie, everyday with her friends is worth celebrating![15]

HubNetwork.com description

Pinkie Pie is a free spirit who prances to the beat of her own drum. Actually, she prances to the sound of her own singing. She's playful and full of energy. She can talk till the ponies come home. She loves to invent silly songs, giggle, skip, and make her friends laugh.

Teacher for a Day description

Pinkie Pie keeps her pony friends laughing and smiling all day! She believes every day is worth celebrating, and loves to throw parties with her pony friends. The only thing Pinkie Pie loves as much as her friends and parties are sweets. She loves to visit the Sugarcube sweet shop. She is always positive, and always helps the ponies see the bright side. You can count on Pinkie Pie for lots and lots of fun.[16]

Pinkie Pie:Pinkie Pie represents the Element of Laughter and loves to make everybody happy, throw parties, eat sweets and talk and talk and talk!Apple Pinkie Pie:This is DEFINITELY not Pinkie Pie enchanted into talking apple form. Nope. No, sir. Nobody here but us pippins.Chaos Princess Pinkie Pie:On balance, she's only about 20% more chaotic than Pinkie Pie usually is -- which really says something about Pinkie Pie, now that we think about it.Drinkie Pie:Pinkie Pie already likes disguises, eating dessert, and hanging upside-down--so becoming a Vampire Pony was sort of a lateral move.Pirate Pinkie Pie:Does her Pirate Party Cannon shoot Party Cannonballs now? She's SUPER excited to find out!Retro Pinkie Pie:

My Little Pony magazine description

Giggly

Fun

Chatterbox

What a ball of energy! Pinkie Pie is super girly and loves to make everybody happy, throw parties, eat sweets and talk and talk and talk!

The Elements of Harmony guidebook

Giggly, playful, and super girly, it's not unusual to find PINKIE PIE prancing and skipping blissfully through the streets of Ponyville. The silliest pony around, Pinkie Pie has a desire to entertain that makes her the most likely source for humor. She is a free spirit, often acting on her whims and following her heart. You would never guess she grew up on a dreary rock farm. Eager to amuse her friends and make everyone happy, Pinkie Pie will find any excuse to throw a party. She loves eating sweets and baking them so much that she is often found at the Sweet Shoppe in Sugarcube Corner, where she works, and lives in the apartment upstairs.

Volume II guidebook

Need a power-packed dose of peppy positivity? Pinkie Pie has everypony covered! Her giggle is infectious and so is her unstoppable spirit. Anypony who hangs around her long enough is bound to get caught up in her infectious spirit. When she's not slinging sugar at Sugarcube Corner, she's planning parties for all her besties. Who doesn't love parties? Pinkie is also an excellent talker with the gift of gab. Speaking of gifts, she loves to give them! What else is she supposed to do with that big heart? Pinkie loves having friends but is extra thankful to be included in such a wonderful group of inspiring young ponies. Hooray for friendship!

The Art of My Little Pony The Movie description

Bubbly, spirited, and a total chatterbox, it's not unusual to find PINKIE PIE bouncing through the streets of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie is a party planner extraordinaire who can cram a lifetime of fun into the blink of an eye. As the silliest Pony around, she brings laughter and levity to even the most serious situations, and her non-stop comedy will provide some much-needed laughter as she and her friends face their biggest challenge yet.

Merchandise, commercials, and cameos

Pinkie Pie is featured in many commercials and her likeness is used for many toys and other merchandise. Several cards in the collectible card game have quotes from The Art of Fun, an in-universe book written by Pinkie Pie. The collectible card game's Absolute Discord expansion set card #36 C of Ponka Po shows her disguised as in Spike at Your Service and gives her the description, "Who could this mysterious mustachioed mastermind be?! Nopony knows..."

Quotes

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited because I'm excited I've never been so excited, well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [gasp] but I mean really, who could top that?"

"I'd never felt joy like that before! It felt so good I just wanted to keep smiling forever! And I wanted everyone I knew to smile too, but rainbows don't come along that often. I wondered, how else could I create some smiles?"

"[shouting] Hey! Is this the shouting closet?! Because I've got a free day, and I'm totally up for some shouting! [sniffs] [normal voice] Also, where's that brussel-sprouts-covered-in-cotton-candy smell coming from? Because it is really interesting."

"All right, ponies, this is the final line between light and darkness. We are the defenders of that line. We are the nightlight that keeps the world safe from monsters. We are the candles in the relaxing bubble bath of the world. We are the annoying light that your neighbor across the street keeps on all night. What does he need that light on all night for? Who's using that?"